The main menswear brands presented their collections for Spring Summer 2016 during June in a marathon of fashion shows across Europe. We were present in London and Milan covering the highlights to our Instagram account and as contributor to GQ Brasil. Now it is time to wrap-up the highlights and present a summary of what you should know.

This was a season in which most of the established brands opted to celebrate or revisit their own DNA. They kept the steering wheel pointing to the same direction of last seasons, without taking risks. This was the case for Saint-Laurent Paris, Kenzo, Valentino or even Prada, who delivered another statement collection, but still within the frame of doing clothes that are more introspective and modest rather than pop (you can read all about this collection here).

Prada

Amongst the young designers, it was interesting to see how they gave their own interpretations for global trends like work wear, sportswear and the masculine/feminine look. In London, the designers Lou Dalton, Craig Green and Agi & Sam gave good reinterpretations for work uniforms, whereas in Milan we could see some personal statements on femininity coming from Andrea Pompilio, who used delicate fabrics like silk, or from the Japanese designer Hiromichi Ochiai, of Facetasm, who put men on skirts in a fresh and exciting collection in the headquarters of Armani. Of course the highlight when it comes to this “genderless” trend was the beautifully crafted collection of Alessandro Michele for Gucci, who went beyond the gender discussion to talk about romanticism and a bucolical feeling (all about the Gucci fashion show here).

Gucci

But the main news this season turned out to be the rise of extremely light fabrics, which are very fluid and soft and normally applied in womenswear. It was present in many collections, but if you have time to only look out for one, then it should be Ermenegildo Zegna Couture (read our detailed post about this collection and all pictures here).

Ermenegildo Zegna Couture

In several collections, cottons, linens, silks, crepes, nylons and jerseys were manufactured to the most flat point, letting the air pass through and ventilate the body. These light fabrics, one can argue, are only trying to deal with global warming and forecasting high temperatures for Summer 2016. But interestingly they were not used in a sexy way neither attempted to reveal curves of the body. This will be a summer in which the skin will be very well covered – even at Versace it was like that, a brand known for the sex appeal of its clothes.

We will bring a more detailed report on each of these trends and other ones in the upcoming days. Make sure to come back for more!

SPRING SUMMER 2016 – It is big time for the house of Gucci. The controversial reputation of the Italian brand is well alive and in good hands through designer Alessandro Michele.

Back in January this year he presented his first menswear collection for the brand (read our entry about this presentation here). As a matter of fact he assumed his position as creative director only few days after that show, so technically he developed a collection on the same eye-level with both menswear and womenswear design teams. He stepped in only two weeks before the presentation, replacing his predecessor Frida Giannini. It was a turning point for the house for the unexpected image Michele created. Men wore pussy bow silk blouses, delicate colors and lace shirts. It was a strong statement about sexuality and gender definitions.

Fast forward six months later and we are in a former train station in the outskirts of Milan, in a warm summer day, waiting for his second menswear collection to be presented. The soundtrack – a Gregorian choir singing a religious song – helps the audience to slow down and get into a meditative mood. These six months between his first show and this one seemed to have helped Michele to refine the message and further develop his own point of view. The show divided opinions again for being too feminine, but there was something about how each piece was crafted, embroidered or even designed that deserves merit.

Before we delve into details, it is important to say that in recent years it was the Northern Irish designer J. W. Anderson who started the fire of the gender fluidity discussion, when he started to dress men in silhouettes only present in womenswear. Anderson’s controversial shows were subject of cyber bulling for several seasons until he got credit for pointing a new direction in fashion (the fact that he got an investment from LVMH Moët Hennessy group helped a lot too). Back in fashion history we had other designers engaged on this cause, like Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood. They both generated unforgettable images of men in skirts back in the 80s and beginning of 90s.

In the case of the new Gucci era, it got clearer this time that Michele is perhaps not doing a statement about cross-dressing or transgender issues. You could say this is a trending topic because there are more and more transgender celebrities present on the mainstream now, such as model Lea T., former athlete Caitlyn Jenner and scientist Martine Rothblatt (the latter is a favorite of this writer. It is worth doing a Google search on her).

The point Michele wants to make comes from theorist Guy Debord’s idea of “Détournement”, in which fragments without context can be rearranged and gain new meanings. So in theory it shouldn’t matter if the flare trousers, pointy collars and hippie embroidery are a strong reference to the 70s and sometimes feel very vintage. Nor matters that the idea of “femininity” is all over the place. Other fragment and clue is that the attitude of the new Gucci boy has zero sex appeal (a big contrast to the old image of the house) because he is more of a pre-adolescent than a fully formed man.

On the day after the show, looking at each piece and accessories on the cold light of the showroom, you could dissect all that. You could notice how diverse ornaments, crochets and embroidery were. It was possible to notice small references to the Tom Ford period and the DNA of the house on the Chinese and botanical prints, respectively. There were hints of Margiela on a inside-out trench coat. You could also notice how each piece was individual and could be easily worn as a separate – moving away from the dictatorship of the total look. The clothes are great for individuals with personal style and know how to mix their own salad.

Perhaps the femininity present in this and other collections this season, like at Burberry’s, was a way for designers to “keep one’s interest in a new take on manliness”, as fashion writer Mr. Collin McDowell pointed out in one of his articles about the London collections. Because even if you are a macho alpha it may be boring to only look to another macho man. I think meanwhile we know everything about them, don’t we? In the context of today, the lives of the Caitlyns or Rothblatts are so much more interesting.

SPRING SUMMER 2016 – The show started like an electroshock: Suddenly the lights were on and the industrial music started to play out loud. On the catwalk a series of clothes with a sporty and cyclist aspect, but still very “every day” like, without a conceptual statement.

Since a while now the menswear shows of Prada are about a more pared-down, sometimes even a humble look. The turning point was the Fall Winter 2015 collection, when designer Miuccia Prada declared she was no longer interested in pop culture, but rather into something more introvert (read our review about this collection here).

This summer collection Mrs. Prada entitled “post-modest” on a play word with “post-modernism”. “It is also post-industrial, post-pop. I departed from these concepts to make them contemporary”, she said backstage to a group of few journalists after the show was over. “Post-modesty is not anymore for today. It all started from a t-shirt, specially in the women’s collection. In the post-industrial segment, is about symbols that represent any kind of logo, advertising or brand. So we decided to use the most stupid ones (rabbit, car, rocket) and in a graphic way. It was more about a visual concept of the idea that you have to impress, but also the conflict that you have to be human, connected to real life and at the same time to the fact that you have to be bold, aggressive and loud”.

Even though there is nothing controversial about the clothes, it was their normality that became a reason to debate. Many editors and guests commented how simple and sometimes not-luxurious the materials were, such as cotton or helanca (even though she used phyton skin painted by hand in the womenswear). It was also criticized for how much it had a fast-fashion appeal (in the same way that Hedi Slimane have been imprinting in his collections for Saint-Laurent Paris). It is undeniable how young the collection looks, reminding us of the extinct menswear collections for Miu Miu, Prada’s second line.

The whole point is that perhaps in the era of Instagram and of a whole new narcissistic generation that became obsessed with self-promotion, selfies, likes and being always presentable to the digital world, it seems enticing to think about what would be the alternative, what would be to simply just don’t care too much and focus on the practical aspect of dressing. In this respect the styling of the show thrived, with messy hairs, untidy sleeves, half tuck t-shirts and jackets out of place.

To the final consumer it is interesting to see how the brand revisited soft/fluid tailoring and workwear jackets, most of them covered in zippers, “the most cheap looking ones”, as Mrs Prada defined. It is also worth paying attention to the color scheme, as it always influences the other brands in the upcoming seasons, if not years to come. This season it was mostly about blue tones, from turquoise to sky blue, browns and greys.

SPRING SUMMER 2016 – Few fashion designers working today have the freedom to develop a collection starting from the choice of fiber of a fabric until the final details of the advertising campaign. One of them is Stefano Pilati, who enters in his third year on the role of creative director of Ermenegildo Zegna Couture line at the traditional Italian tailoring house Ermenegildo Zegna.

The luxury group seems to give him total freedom to develop the line, so each and every season we are surprised with Pilati’s propositions for a men’s wardrobe. They always have something new to add and sometimes the propositions are so subtle that we even didn’t know they could make a difference. And they do, belive me.

This season it was all about the development of extremely light fabrics that simply flow with movement and wind. They could have been tule, but they are proper cottons, cashmeres and wools. Needless to say they are ideal for extremely warm temperatures in times of global warming. But most importantly: The light fabric doesn’t fight against sewings because these were also re-imagined to be as light and resistant as possible. Some of the pieces actually have two layers of fabric – the outside one, very light and almost transparent, and the inside one, with a checked pattern, which you can only see if you dedicate a careful look at it.

Pilati’s idea was to develop a tailoring that is relaxed and sportified and to which he defined backstage after the show as being “sexy tailoring“. Indeed the clothes might suggest certain curves slightly, but most of the time they cover the body completely and in an elegant way. The jackets are fitted, slim, whereas the trousers are wider on the legs and narrow at the hemlines. The best piece in the entire collection is a zip-up jacket with a wrap effect at the front, which he did in black and in white versions.

The collection is also aligned with a current mood to reach far destinations and cultures. In this case, the brand looked at the traditional Madras checks from India. The designer revisited them in pastel colors and in a larger/amplified version, in a macro effect.

Other interesting twist was the way the clothes were presented. The show started in total black looks and slowly evolved to bright colors of the madras until it reached pure whites at the end. The clothes went down the runway with the song “Auntie Aviator” by Beverly and John Martyn and chosen by Michel Gaubert.

“All I want to do is see you smile”, sang Beverly. Indeed, happy are those who chose to wear Zegna Couture clothes and can afford them. They are extremely expensive and not so easy to find. Just like couture.